Operating lever for closing drop doors on railway hopper cars



March 14, 1950 s. RADIS 2,500,865

I OPERATING LEVER FOR CLOSING DROP DOORS 0R RAILWAY HOPPER CARS FiledOct. 18, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- STANLEY/PA 0/5,

March 14, 1950 2,500,865

' S. RADIS OPERATING LEVER FOR CLOSING DROP DOORS OR RAILWAY HOPPER CARSFiled Oct. 18, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR STANLEY/PA p/s,

Patented Man. 14, 1959 UNETED S OFFICE OPERATING LEVER FOR CLOSING DROPDOORS @N RAILWAY HOPPER CARS 1 Claim.

This invention relates to operating levers for closing drop doors onrailway hopper cars and has for its principal object the provision ofsuch a lever which may be positively engaged with the car hopper and thedoor when in operating position so as to avoid any danger of the leverslipping when closing the doors.

l-leretofore it has been the practice to manually move the hopper doorsuntil they engage a preliminarylatch, then to utilize an ordinary pinchbar to try to force the door into a completely closed position where itis engaged by a permanent locking latch. The use of such pinch bars ofstandard design was objectionable and dangerous since they provided nomeans for preventing the bar slipping when force was applied to closethe door and bars slipping from engagement with the doors have causednumerous and serious injuries to workmen.

The present bar, due to the fact that it has a positive engagement withthe car hopper and with the door, cannot slip during the door closingoperation and the danger of injuring the operator or fellow-workmen hasbeen entirely eliminatcd.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation of a car hopper showing door ofhopper open with operation lever anchored to hopper;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing door closed by operating lever;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of operating lever;

Figure l is a plan View of the lever of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the lever with the anchor omitted;and,

Figures 6 and 7 are side and face views respectively oi the anchor orhook or the operatin lever.

The device of this invention is of simple construction and consists ofonly three parts, namely, a lever bar designated generally by the letterA, a locking hook or link designated generally by the letter B, and afulcrum bolt designated generally by the letter C.

The lever bar A is composed of one piece of steel, suitably shaped, andhas formed intermediate its ends and projecting from one edge thereof afulcrum portion or lug 2 having a boltreceiving opening 3. The fulcrumportion 2 is positioned nearer one end of the bar than the other and thelongest portion of the bar, which is designated by the numeral 4, has aconstantly reduced cross-section so as to have a size suitable forconvenient gripping by the operator. That portion of the bar oppositethe portion 4 is designated by the numeral 4' and is relatively short ascompared with the length of the portion of the bar The portion 4 of thebar is constantly reduced in cross-section from said bearing portion 2to its terminal end and is so shaped that it has a slow curve shape inthe direction of its longitudinal axis, such curve being of sufiicientmagnitude to provide clearance for any projecting parts of the car door.The terminal end of the part 5 is of such reduced cross-section that itcan be readily inserted in an opening or socket 5 formed in an extensionmember 6 on the angle 6 on the car door I. I

The link hook B is provided with a clevis end 8 adapted to be fittedover the fulcrum portion 2 and to be fulcrumed on the bolt C, whichprojects through aligned openings in the clevis end 8 of the hook E andthe opening 3 in the fulcrum portion 2 of the lever bar. The terminal orfree end of the hook member B is bent back upon itself to form asubstantially U-shaped terminal hook portion 9 which, when the bar isinoperative position, is engaged in an aperture l2 formed in an extension53 of the door latch mechanism I4.

In the operation of closing the hopper door I, the reduced end of theshort portion 4' of the lever bar is inserted in the opening or socket 5in the reinforcing angle 6 of the door and the hook portion 9 is engagedin the aperture l2 in the extension l3 of the latch mechanism 14 wherebythe bar is anchored by the hook to the rigid structure of the hopper andthe end of the bar is anchored in the socket 5 of the door, so that whenforce is applied to the end of the portion t of the bar, the bar willfulcrum around the bolt C and force the door inwardly into closedposition. By anchoring the bar with the hook member B, there is nodanger of the bar flying loose from the door and injuring either theoperator or fellowworkmen.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In combination with a railway hopper car, a pivot member on said car, adoor hanging from said pivot member, means on the lower part of saiddoor extending outwardly therefrom and having an opening therein, aportion on said car extending toward said door above the last said meansand having an opening therein, a lever bar having a fulcrum portionthereon, the portion of said lever bar extending upwardly from saidfulcrum portion being materially longer than the portion of said leverbar extending downwardly from said fulcrum portion, said longer portionof said lever bar having its terminal end shaped to permit gripping bythe operator, the lower end of the lever bar being shaped to permitready insertion into the first of said openings, a link hook pivotallymounted on said bar at the fulcrum portion, said hook having its freeend bent back to form a substantially U-shaped hook terminal to beengaged with the second of said openings so as to form an anchor forsaid lever bar and permit said lever bar to move about the pivotconnection between said hook and lever bar when force is applied to saidlonger portion of said lever bar and thereby force said relatively shortportion of said lever bar to move the car door into closed position.

STANLEY RADIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 107,779 Hudson et a1 Sept. 27,1870 1,933,755 Prescott 1 Nov. 7, 1933 10 2,025,761 McCann Dec. 31, 19352,201,394 Edelblute May 21, 1940

